BEIJING, May 28 (Xinhua) — With the 2024 college entrance examination (gaokao) now counting down, in just 10 days candidates across the country will face one of the most important exams of their lives. At present, many localities have convened meetings or issued documents to arrange gaokao work, setting requirements on the exam environment, exam services, and admissions discipline. In addition, this year's gaokao has some new changes.

  File photo: The 2023 gaokao in Jiangsu concludes.

　　First new gaokao in 7 provinces and regions

　　Admissions in many places no longer distinguish between first- and second-tier universities

　　According to this year's exam arrangements, the 2024 national unified college entrance examination begins on June 7. In some provinces the exam lasts two days, while provinces implementing the new gaokao take three to four days.

　　China News Service reporters noted that in 2024, seven provinces and regions — Jilin, Heilongjiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Guizhou, and Gansu — will hold the first sitting of the new gaokao. According to information previously released by the Ministry of Education, 29 provinces nationwide have now launched comprehensive gaokao reform; the seven provinces and regions implementing the new gaokao this year are the fourth batch, and the new gaokao in the fifth batch of eight provinces and regions will be implemented next year.

　　How does the new gaokao differ from the previous one? Based on the implementation plans and interpretations published by various localities, the exam subjects follow a "3+1+2" model. "3" refers to the unified gaokao subjects — Chinese, mathematics, and foreign languages — which use the national papers and are set by the Ministry of Education's National Education Examinations Authority; "1" is a preferred subject, namely one subject chosen from history and physics; "2" refers to reselected subjects, namely two subjects chosen from ideology and politics, geography, chemistry, and biology. The elective subjects are set by each province.

　　A candidate's score consists of the results in the three unified subjects — Chinese, mathematics, and foreign languages — plus the results in the three academic proficiency elective subjects chosen by the candidate, with a full score of 750. Chinese, mathematics, and foreign languages each carry a full score of 150 and are counted in the total as raw scores; each elective subject carries a full score of 100, with history and physics counted as raw scores and the other subjects counted as graded scores.

　　In terms of application filing, the "institution-major group" approach is widely used: several major groups are set under one institution code, and within the same institution-major group, all majors (categories) have the same subject requirements for candidates. It is worth noting that the number of choices under the new gaokao has increased substantially; some provinces, for example, set 45 institution-major group choices for the regular undergraduate batch.

　　In addition, after the implementation of the new gaokao, admissions in Gansu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Guangxi, Guizhou, and other places no longer distinguish between first- and second-tier universities, merging them into a single undergraduate batch.

  Senior high school students review intensively in the classroom, preparing for the upcoming 2024 gaokao.

　Gaokao registration numbers rise in many places

　　Recently, many localities have announced this year's gaokao registration figures, with numbers rising in many places and some hitting record highs.

　　In 2024, for example, Hunan had 730,000 gaokao registrants, an increase of 46,000 over the previous year and a record high.

　　This year Jiangxi had 642,100 gaokao registrants; excluding the 89,500 already admitted through the higher vocational single recruitment, 552,600 candidates will actually sit the June unified exam, an increase of 16,900 over 2023.

　　In 2024, Hainan had 74,096 gaokao registrants, an increase of 4,027 over last year, with the proportions of various candidate sources basically the same as last year.

　　In addition, according to Hebei Radio and Television, Hebei's gaokao registration number has also increased compared with last year.

　　Strict prevention of exam cheating

　　Cracking down hard on "gaokao migrants"

　　As the gaokao approaches, many localities have convened meetings or issued documents to arrange gaokao work, requiring hard crackdowns on exam cheating and strict regulation of admissions management.

　　Fujian, for example, requires strict control over the exam environment, resolute crackdowns on all kinds of cheating methods, upgrading and improving intelligent security inspection equipment, special rectification of the electromagnetic environment around exam sites, and regulation of exam-preparation agencies, so as to provide candidates with a safe and comfortable exam environment.

　　The Anhui Provincial College Admissions Committee issued a notice stating that "gaokao migrants" must be cracked down on hard, responsibilities of senior high schools must be fully shouldered, student status management must be strictly regulated, and violations such as nominal enrollment without attendance, separation of person and status, and false student status must be strictly investigated.

　　The Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education issued a notice requiring serious regulation of admissions conduct: no university may, without approval, recruit students in advance, issue pre-admission notices, charge fees in advance to reserve sources of students, or sign agreements with students or promise admission to a major, integrated bachelor's-master's-doctoral study, or through-train programs, or make other promises that violate admissions regulations. Vicious competition for student sources and mutual denigration are strictly prohibited.